Queen of Swords
by G4M3B0Y
Summary: [FE8SS][Eirika x Innes] Innes loves Eirika, but what are Eirika's feelings? Innes's rivalry with Ephraim as well as his two deminsional way of thinking tend to cause frustrations for Eirika. [Rated T just to be safe.]


**Queen of Swords**

I do not own Fire Emblem.

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone!

This is my first Fire Emblem fic. Originally I was going to start with a Lyn x Hector fic, but I really like this idea right now. ;

This will take place during the Creature Campaign. For simplicity sake, we'll assume all characters that aren't participating end up wherever they are at the end of the game.

Eirika x Innes is my favorite pairing of FE8. I hope there are a lot of people out there who agree with me.

Innes is just an awesome character. 3

Hope you like it. I may or may not continue writing, depending on how lazy I am. x3

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The fog today was causing terrible problems.

Phantasms in the mist were causing much confusion. It was difficult to tell what was a monster and what was just a swirl of vapor. Luckily, Eirika and company had brought plenty of torches.

The battle to save Magvell had been won. But there was still much work left to do. The land was still blighted with monsters.

Eirika left Renais in the trusty hands of her brother while she lead the campaign to purge the land. Ephraim was reluctant to let her go. But Eirika insisted. She had become a warrior of outstanding skill, not to mention she would be taking some of the skilled veterans who had fought along side the two of them against the Demon King. Ephraim was confident in both their and Eirika's skill.

The issue was, he would have much liked to fight with her. Eirika pointed out that he would be needed more in Renais, and relented.

The company was now targeting a large group of monsters in Carcino. Eirika had collected a small army of any who had been willing to participate. Some of the obvious candidates didn't even need to be asked. L'Arachel and Dozla were more than happy to do thier part. Rennac somehow managed to escape her party.

Lute and Artur had also joined in. Franz and Amelia, both armored Great Knights, came along as well to further their training. The last group consisted of Tana, who was eager to help out Eirika, Vanessa, who was sent to fight along side her, and... Innes. Innes's motivation was obvious to everyone in the company. Everyone was well aware of his affection for Eirika- For he had challenged Ephraim for her hand every opportunity up until the final battle.

Eirika had decided to move through the pass to the north west. There wouldn't be as many enemies coming down that way, and Tana and Vanessa would protect her from flying monsters. The rest of the army moved up on the other side of the pass, taking the majority of the creatures.

She told Innes that she would be fine on her own, but he would hear nothing of it and was intent on staying by her side.

The two of them made their way northward. Tana informed them that there was a ballista up ahead, but the dense fog veiled their vision. Unless the two Falcon Knights sailed near, they were otherwise alone in the curtain of mists. A few Wights showed themselves along the way, but they were easily dispatched.

Somehow Innes had managed to keep pace with Eirika, who was on a horse.

"Eirika. You shouldn't run too far ahead. I won't be able to see you through the fog." demanded Innes as they reached the ballista.

"Oh, Innes... Please don't worry. I can do quite well on my own." she pointed out. She moved to the ledge behind them to fight any monsters that had come down from the north.

"Please understand, Eirika. I feel more at ease when I know you're near by." Innes said with blatant sincerity. Eirika's cheeks turned slightly pink at the comment.

"Ah... Well... Um... I'm going up ahead just a bit." She said. She moved on before he could protest.

"Please wait for me before you go to far." Innes called as he took out a gargoyle that had wandered too near.

Eirika rode to the west side of the small fort. The very same fort where Innes had held siege. To Eirika, it seemed like it had been years and years since that day.

A combination of a wandering mind and the illusions of the fog and caused Eirika to overlook an Elder Bael that approached her. Her horse reared up as it appeared from the fog. Eirika snapped back to reality, but didn't collect her senses in time. She fell from her horse with an 'oof.' The horse ran out of the Bael's range in a panic. As Eirika scrambled up the Bael struck, sinking its fangs into her shoulder. She cried out, but somehow managed to counter attack and defeat it.

The horse returned to her soon enough. She supported herself by holding onto its neck with her good arm. This horse had served her through the final battles against the Demon King, and was used to monsters; But perhaps it had been a bit more jumpy due to the fog.

Eirika heard the beat of wings from somewhere within the mists. "Vanessa? Tana?" she ventured. A gargoyle materialized above her. She raised her sword, but she wasn't sure she could fight it off. Her wound may have been infected by the Bael's venom. "Innes!" she called without thinking.

A bolt struck the gargoyle just as it had swooped in for an attack. Eirika turned to see that Innes had managed to move the ballista closer. Eirika sank to the ground, clutching her wound. Innes quickly abandoned the ballista and ran to join her. He knelt beside her, digging around for a vulnerary.

"Here, take this. I'm afraid I don't have an antitoxin..." he said disappointedly. The vulnerary had already been used; Eirika used the last of it to partially heal her wound.

"Ah... Thank you Innes. If you hadn't been there..." Her voice trailed off.

"You're still badly wounded. Let me take you to Princess L'Arachel-"

"Oh, but Innes, I can still ride my horse..." Eirika interrupted.

Innes had already taken her arm. "Here. Lean on me. We can wait for Tana or Vanessa to come and get you." he insisted, gazing up at the wraiths of fog that skulked through the mists. He sat down on the dewy earth beside her. They would be safe for now- The area they were in was mostly cleared at this point.

There was a brief silence between them. The distant sounds of battle from the other side of the mountain were audible. Eirika's breathing became slightly more labored as the poisin did it's job.

"Innes... Is it okay for you and Tana to keep coming out and fighting with us? Doesn't your father need you in Frelia?" she breathed.

Innes gave an arrogant snort and replied, "Tana is useless, so she can do what she isn't needed in Frelia." If Eirika had been in a better state she would have protested this. "Father can manage things fine on his own." he added.

Eirika rested her head on Innes's shoulder. The poisin was inducing an unsurmountable fatigue.

"It's more important for me to be fighting beside you right now. You're wretched brother isn't around to protect you."

Eirika frowned. Innes didn't seem to notice. Eirika hated when he brought up Ephraim. Despite how often he expressed his love for her, it always seemed to lead back to his rivalry with Ephraim. Eirika sometimes wondered how much of his feelings were true passion and how much were for the purpose of acting against her brother.

At that moment, Vanessa materialized from above. "Prince Innes! Princess Eirika! We're almost finished over here!"

Innes stood and helped Eirika to her feet. Vanessa landed her pegasus near by.

"Vanessa! Take Eirika to Princess L'Arachel."

With their combined efforts they managed to get Eirika onto the pegasus without too much hassle and without causing her wound further damage.

Vanessa took off to take Eirika over the mountains. They vanished quickly from view, consumed in grey.

Innes made his way on foot towards the rest of the army. He managed to coax Eirika's horse into coming with.

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End chapter 1! Huzzah!

If I'm not lazy, I'll continue ASAP. In future chapters, Eirika's still feeling under the weather, Innes tries to best Ephraim (again), and Tana and L'Arachel teach Innes how to woo Eirika. AND EXPLOSIONS.

Stay tuned.

G4M3B0Y, AWAY!


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